BP Swing

I dont know but thats very doubtful that they would mix the great lakes strain with the Chautauqua strain.

I spoke to Steve LePan of the DEC last week at the lake Ontario symposium and asked him at the break how the St Lawrence fishery was doing and he flat out told me they are very worried about the fishery. They are not seeing the young of year and some of the spawning grounds have changed with new weed types. He thinks the big VHS kill a few yrs ago has hurt it too. Giants are still there but numbers are down. Still produces the biggest muskies in the world though in my opinion.

So then no one can use deadbait? Most bait shops dont have certified dead bait do they? You cant use frozen store bought bait and you cant catch your own bait. So how does anyone legally use deadbait which is a top producer of big pike?

If you bought it at Wegmans and had the receipt and package, that would still not show that it was certified. Wonder what the DEC does in a case like this.?

Can you use deadbait without a receipt from a bait store? IE: Frozen smelt at Wegmans ?

Can anyone tell me what the water visibility is in the lower Niagara river today Friday 12/10/10?? Thanks

Mandatory C & R and 60" limits sound great and Im all for it but one problem......what do you do when a monster goes belly up after a release like what happened with the recent 59"? Do you just let it float away? I myself cant answer that dilema. BTW I wonder how old that fish was that didnt make it.... 20-25 yrs? Sad

Seriously....36" is a joke and really an insult to the fish and fishermen. DEC should change that immediately. WTF

Why is it all muskies arent mandatory catch & release? Better than the original graphite mounts are available. This would eliminate any bozos keeping muskies they thought were Pike. They are not table fare anyways, wonder why the DEC doesnt support that but the 54" rule on Erie?

The fact that the national freshwater fishing hall of fame discredited the Lawton fish means ABSOLUTELY nothing. Their MO is to make sure the record stayed in Wisconsin (AKA Louie Sprays fish). When they did that, I immediately cancelled my membership to the NFFHF in protest. The musky world doesnt want the record in NY for some reason. The Larry still rules! P.S Here is a photo of the Lawton fish from a newspaper clipping my grandfather gave me when I was a kid http://bpspinners.com/coolfishingstuff.html and dont forget about this caught by Dale McNair in 2008 which supposedly weighed 70 and released. The interview is below it too. http://bpspinners.com/morecoolfishingstuff.html

I agree, I think Pike should have a closed season other than 1 month ( April). Must be the DEC thinks very little of Pike as do many ice anglers. I see small ones laying all over the ice at Braddocks. What ever happened to catch & release? Those big pike are very old maybe 20 yrs in some cases.

Congrats Brad way to go!

Very well done on the video and congrats on many really nice eyes!

I read on another board that the locals average 86 hrs per legal muskie there, is that true? Anybody keep any logs to verify that? Thats wicked but the rewards are worth it. Also that Dr Casselman thinks 50% of the big girls died off in the big VHS kill a few yrs ago.

nice job Larry, it aint easy alone, I know.

Thanks Capt. Vince for the info and yes it was released and swam away.

Vince it was from the Niagara River and was very fat. If lakers are spawning this time of year are they spawning in the river? Some are in the river, some out in the lake??? Why? Thanks for your response, I was hoping a charter Capt. could give me a answer.

Got a nice one the other day but had no scale. 38.5" x 20. Anyone caught one around that size that was weighed on a accurate scale? I think it was my personal best laker. Im guessing 20-23 lbs. but its only a guess. Anyone? I dont know how accurate the online fish calculators are.

Theres no way Id use it for skis but I got some surfstrand micro for swimbaits (Walleyes) and I was thinking of trying it for jig/pig bite offs. I dont think the stealth thing matters for skis. They seem to hit wire leaders just fine but others will problably disagree. I always felt if they want it and are eating, wire leaders wont matter. Using 60 lb flouro is a good option too but the knots are tough to tie with that thickness.

Was wondering if anyone here has used the Cortland toothy critter tie-able leader material or the American Fishing wire surfstrand micro tie-able stuff? Im wondering what knots would work and how it holds up. This is a more stealthy option if it works ok especially for swimbaits, jigs, anything that might get bit off. I cant tell you how many Jig/pigs I lost to pike bite offs while Bass fishing. In-fish. recommends them for walleye swimbaits but they dont mention what knots to use (or I havent found it). Anyone use the stuff?

Im with you Landshark on this one. Size over numbers any day of the week. Im dying to go up there. Nice fish and congrats.

Yes I found out the hard way too alone. Was expecting docks but they were long gone. The 20 MPH wind didnt make it too easy going in or out. I lost a brute Pike today when my wire leader broke (in the middle, not the snap or swivel) Darn what a way to lose a nice one, Im not sure I ever had that happen. I had some action on minnowbaits stop and go but not alot. Old Man what were you using and where were you? BP

OK thanks. They usually pull them right around now when the fishing gets good.

Anyone know if the docks are gone?

Wow thats nice to hear from the Oak. Any idea how big? There must be a few in the middle of Lake O since they are at both ends. Thanks.